Saturday, October 01, 2005

A Catalog Cometh - Republic of Tea

It's always a happy day when a new tea catalog arrives in the mail. The latest to grace my mailbox is from The Republic of Tea. You may know them from their distinctively designed tea tins, which seem to turn up mostly in high-toned groceries and specialty shops.

Republic's latest catalog is their 75th and the first one I've seen. According to the cover, it retails for a dollar. That seems odd for a catalog, but what do I know?

If you're looking for a wide variety of single estate teas and that sort of thing, there are probably better places to look than here. While Republic offers a nice selection of black, green, oolong and white teas, they seem to lean more toward flavored teas and infusions, many of which are offbeat and rather intriguing.

Some of the more notable offerings include the gourmet Imperial Republic line, the Red Tea (rooibos) line, a selection of fair trade certified teas, a nice assortment of white teas and an organic line.

Republic also seems to be branching out rather extensively into bottled ready to drink teas. I'm not much of a fan of this sort of thing and these seem a bit pricey, but hey, everyone likes what they like.

Also on hand are a wide assortment of kettles, pots, accessories and related merchandise, including such oddities as stir-fry tea tree oil and a really nifty iced tea pitcher. And while I don't often get excited over tea ware, there are some quite striking clear glass cups and pots by Bodum and a set of modernist stainless steel tea ware that caught my eye.